A Brave New World
by Pokessassin
Summary: Spin off from my Pokémon: Shadows series, and a hell of a lot happier. And no, it isn't the Aaron you're thinking of. Join Aaron, Tim and Owen as they journey across Ireland, encountering new challenges, new gym leaders, and having an exceptionally fun time doing it.
1. The Beginning

**Hey!**

**After the end of my last Fanfiction, I dare not say much, other than informing people that this takes place in the same universe, just a different country. And a year later.**

**Disclaimer: Pokémon's not mine.**

"OK, this is it." The car's engine died down as we pulled into the underground car park.

So, hey. My name's Aaron. I live on the outskirts of a speck-sized town in the south of Ireland called Ballinhassig, with my father, mother and my older brother, Tim.

Since I live in the middle of nowhere, out in the middle of the countryside, I bet you'd expect me to be a really outdoorsy.

As it happens, I'm not.

I'm a skinny, pale brown haired thirteen year-old. Sports, to put it lightly, is not my strong suit. Most kids I know play rugby, hurling or soccer. I do none of these, and instead, spend most of my time playing videogames.

Or I did.

The game I was addicted to most was Pokémon. I'd been in love with the series, both animé and games, since I was three years old and my brother asked my parents to get us Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.

I'd been walking my dog along the winding path up to the cemetery near my house when I saw my first one. There'd been a white light, and suddenly, there it was; a Lillipup, scrambling around in my ditch.

Four days later and these white lights, 'rifts', they were being called, were suddenly everywhere. All over the world. Pokémon are now as ubiquitous as usual animals, or very nearly.

And today was the first time that starters were being distributed to the public.

I turned to my dad. He was a tall, broad shouldered man with brown hair.

"Well, we're finally here," he said. He was smiling, but it was a sort of sad smile. I suppose he had pretty good reason.

After we receive our starter and our trainer's licence, first-time trainers get a Journey Card. My teacher, Mr Reynolds, had described as something like a credit card. It'd hold all the money you had, and, upon being scanned, allow to get accommodation in any of the Pokémon Centres established across Ireland.

After you get your Journey Card, valid for a year, you're allowed to go off on a journey to defeat the Irish League, a series of Pokémon gyms, like in the show and the games, set up all around the country.

You get to take care of yourself, essentially, for a year. You're even allowed enter the league as a group with a maximum of three.

I glanced out the window as my mother's car pulled up beside me. My brother, Tim, stepped out. He was blonde, unnaturally tall for a fifteen year-old. He was fairly good-looking, one of the more 'popular' guys in his year. Despite this, he'd always played Pokémon, even when it was just a game, and typically uncool.

I gave my dad a quick half-hug, difficult since I was directly next to him in the car, and opened the door, standing.

My mother stepped out of the driver's seat and immediately set about fixing Tim's hair and the collar of my shirt. She was generally a fairly nice person, if a bit loud, but every time we walked out the door it was like we were about to meet the Queen of England or something.

"So, ready?" Tim asked, walking over to me, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Yeah…nervous. I mean, an entire year, on our own. Is Owen here yet?" I asked. Owen, a friend of ours for as long as either of us could remember, would be travelling with us.

"Already at the Pokémon Centre, I think." Tim nodded. He looked out of the gap in the wall of the car park, at the skyline of Cork City.

"One whole year." I shook my head disbelievingly. "It's going to be good."

Tim smirked. "Probably better for me, due to my natural talent at everything under the sun."

I shrugged. "I'll just keep you around to get me into places."

"That's what I'm here for," Tim replied. We laughed, and then our dad walked over.

"Alright, boys. The Pokémon Centre is just around the corner. I trust you can walk there yourselves?" he smiled. We nodded, eager to get going and _finally _get our first Pokémon.

"Right. We'll be waiting here, and you can home to pack…then…" our mother faltered, sobbing. Dad put an arm round her, and Tim and I gave her an awkward hug.

"Go, go, it's grand…" our father mouthed, and we quickly detached ourselves, walking out of the car park and into the cold autumn morning.

As we walked down the street, I looked around at the city. Just one year and a half ago, I'd know the place so well.

Now it was new.

Pokémon soared overhead, scampered along the roads and footpaths. There was even a Riolu, deftly leaping from a ledge.

I grinned as we approached the Pokémon Centre, a big, white building detached from those around it. Owen stood in front of it.

He was a year older than me and a year younger than Tim. He had blonde hair, but darker than Tim's and wore glasses.

He'd firmly decided which Pokémon he was going to start with. He wouldn't shut up about it.

"Today's the day!" he smiled. "The day I get a Piplup and you guys…do whatever. But the Piplup is the important thing."

We laughed, and glanced up at the building. It really did look like a Pokémon Centre. It had the red roof and everything.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Absolutely," Tim said.

"Oh, yeah." Owen's smile grew wider.

And we stepped in.

**So, as you can probably tell, this story is a hell of a lot happier than the last three I've done.**

**No one'll even die, probably.**

**I dunno.**

**Maybe, like.**

**Maybe.**


	2. Starters

**So, everyone seems to not want me to kill anyone in this fic. I mightn't. I might be really nice and have learned the error of my ways.**

**You know, maybe. **

**Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.**

The first thing that came to mind when Tim, Owen and I walked through the automatic doors of the Cork City Pokémon Centre was 'big.'

The second one was 'crowded.'

It looked like everyone in the county was packed in beneath the high white roof. Six tables were placed in the centre of the room, each with three Pokéballs on them. Beneath the tables were tubes, filled with more Pokéballs, which would probably be shot up onto the table to replace the taken ones.

"Are you for your Pokémon?" asked a thin, bearded young man in a tie and a plaid shirt.

"Um. Yes." was all I could really manage. Tim and Owen nodded. I admit, that was a moment of weakness.

"Great! Sign this and line up behind the queue for the Pokémon you want!" the man said. He handed us three leaflets. I scanned over the words and fished around in my coat for a pen.

The form was just the terms of agreement for getting a Pokémon, you know, saying that you're legally allowed to go on a journey, get a Pokémon, the whole nine yards. We'd been shown the form in school, so I signed it and handed it back.

"Thanks," the man said as he took the leaflets one by one. "Right, you can get lining up. I'm Professor O'Malley, by the way, the County Professor."

"Cheers," I said, and walked towards the tables. Tim and Owen soon followed.

"So, what're you two going to pick?" Owen asked, straightening his glasses and practically bouncing on his heels with excitement. "I know which one _I'm _going to pick."

"I'm aware," Tim and I said in unison.

Owen grinned and went off to the fourth table, marked 'Sinnoh.'

"What _are _we going to pick, though?" Tim mused. "I suppose I'll go for one of the Hoenn starters. Bit torn though."

"Why?" I asked.

"Treecko or Mudkip, man," Tim sighed. "The most difficult question of all."

"So, Torchic isn't even an option?" I asked.

"No."

I shrugged. Torchic had always been my favourite Hoenn starter.

I had no clue which Pokémon _I _wanted. It was between Torchic, Fennekin and Chimchar. Fire had always been my type, and my very first Pokémon, way back in LeafGreen, had been Charmander. However, I knew roughly seven billion people who were choosing Charmander, so I didn't especially want to be part of that trend.

I approached the Hoenn table tentatively, and observed the people lining up, and taking the Pokéballs. Each time somebody removed one, another was sucked up through the tube and popped out in the other's place.

Tim seemed to have made his choice, and lined up behind the queue for Treecko.

He caught my eye and smiled.

"Right," I muttered, "Decision time."

As I walked up the length of the room, passing Owen, I saw it; a Pokéball, at the table for the Kalos region. It was to the far right, meaning the Fire Pokémon. It seemed to glow orange when I passed. I backed up, and the glow stopped. I took a step forward, and it lit up once more.

"Someone seems to like you," said a voice from behind me. I turned and there was Professor O'Malley, standing behind me, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Apparently," I nodded.

"You should choose him, then," the Professor said. "Fennekin. You could do a lot worse."

I smiled. I'd had some good times in Pokémon Y with my Fennekin there. I walked forward, standing over the Pokéball.

I was nearly shaking with excitement. This was _it, _this was the moment I finally received my first Pokémon.

I reached forward and picked the sphere up. It was warm.

"Congrats," Professor O'Malley said before walking away.

I walked back to the entrance, leaning against the doorframe. My heart was beating like a drum. I'd never been as excited as I was now.

Owen came practically bouncing over to me, waving his Pokéball in the air and shouting about how he finally had a Piplup. Tim strode over a couple of seconds later, smiling proudly.

"What'd you pick?" he asked.

I showed the Pokéball, marked 'Fennekin.'

"Awesome!" Owen grinned. "But not quite _as _awesome." He proudly displayed his Pokéball.

"Jesus Christ," I said. "Get a room."

The three of us made our way back to the car park, agreeing to wait until we were there to release our Pokémon and get acquainted.

When we got in, Tim knocked on the window of Dad's car and I did the same on Mum's. Mum was asleep, and Dad seemed to be engrossed in Angry Birds, but they both got out anyway.

"Well," Dad grinned broadly. "Let's see the Pokémon then!"

"If I may," Owen asked, and took out his Pokéball before anyone could actually say otherwise. He turned it around in his palm, before holding it out and clicking the button.

A grey flash momentarily lit up the car park and a Piplup emerged. It looked around, tilting blue-feathered head when it saw Owen.

It gave a sharp '_plup' _and latched onto Owen's leg.

He looked down, mouth hanging open rapturously. "This…is the single greatest moment in my life."

"OK, maybe I should send out –…"

"Hush now, Tim. I'm savouring this moment for all of time."

"But - …"

"_SSSSSHHHHHH."_

I reached out to pet Piplup's head. It pecked me, leaving a thin, tiny cut on my finger. "Jesus. OK, no petting."

"My turn," Tim smiled, taking out his Pokéball, tossing it up, and catching it in his hand. Bit of a show-off, my brother.

He clicked the button and out came a Treecko. The green, lizard-like Grass type scampered off at lightning speed, nimbly scaling the wall, and stopping when it was upside-down, just above Tim's head.

The Wood Gecko Pokémon observed him carefully, and, satisfied, dropped onto his head.

"Well," I said. "I suppose you get the Treecko seal of approval."

"Aaron," Mum said. "Your turn."

I nodded, and fished my Pokéball from my pocket. I held it out in front of my face and released Fennekin.

The Fox Pokémon sat on its hindquarters, and glanced around. It let out a small puff of flame from its nostrils. It turned to me.

It gave a short yowl and moved forward. I bent down.

"Hey," I greeted. I stretched out my hand. Fennekin paused, before licking my hand.

I smiled. "Nice to meet you too."

I scratched Fennekin behind the ears and stood, pocketing the Pokéball again. He leapt up, and I caught him in my arms.

"Right. Let's go home."


	3. The First Encounter

**OK…this chapter, the journey will actually begin. GET HYPE!**

**Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.**

The dinner, though extremely delicious, wasn't savoured for very long when Tim, Owen and I got brought back to my house. We were all way too excited to take our time.

Owen's father came to see him off, but his mother, who was working a double shift at…um…wherever she worked, couldn't do the same. Owen didn't care too much, because, as he kept reminding us, he had a Piplup.

I packed a bag full of clothes, a couple of good books, and, more importantly, my Pokédex. I'd been given the phone-shaped, red and black device by Professor O'Malley before we'd left. I also packed five Pokéballs that I'd picked up on the way back.

Owen, Tim and I met on the crossroads, just down the hill from my house, to start our journey.

"OK," Tim said, kneeling down and pulling out an iPad from his bag. "So, we've started here, since our house is farthest south and we want to travel up the entire country. The first out of the ten Irish gyms is…"

He tapped a finger onto the map on his screen, and Owen and I bent down to look.

"..Here," Tim said, "in Cork. The League has converted Wilton Shopping Centre into a gym."

I nodded. "Its Poison type, isn't it?"

"Yep," Owen affirmed, "should be interesting."

"Then we'd best get going," I suggested, and pointed to the path that led left in the crossroads. "Wilton's that way."

And so we set off.

After walking along the road for about half an hour, the sun began to set, and the path got dark. It was later than I'd realised.

"We know our way around," Tim said. "We should keep going for another while and set up camp in those woods." He pointed to a long stretch of trees leading down a hill.

"Good plan," I nodded, a little annoyed _I _hadn't come up with that. After a while, we released our Pokémon.

Fennekin trotted briskly alongside me, head held high. Treecko, being astonishingly lazy, had settled inside Tim's bag, head poking out. Owen elected to carry his Piplup, which was fairly weird. His obsession with that Pokémon was a bit unhealthy.

Eventually, after a couple of hours, we settled at the edge of the woods, Owen pulling out a couple of towels from his backpack.

"Always carry a towel," he said knowingly, tossing one to me.

As soon as I laid it down, Fennekin immediately settled on it.

That was when we heard the noise.

It was a thin, rasping hiss. I could tell it was coming from beyond the trees, but I had no clue what it was.

"Did you hear that?" I asked. Fennekin ears twitched and he gave a low growl.

"Be quiet," Tim said, holding up a hand. And there it was again, that ominous sound.

"_Gassssst…"_

"Hang on a second…" Owen muttered, and pulled out his Pokédex from his coat pocket. He directed it towards the trees. It began to beep, and, as he moved his hand, it began to beep faster and louder.

Then, there was a _click._

"Pokémon detected. Identifying…" the machine stated in a mechanised voice. Owen smiled.

"Got you now…"

And then, the hissing grew louder. It seemed like there was more than one of whatever was there, and the noises grew into a chorus.

White eyes opened in the darkness. At least four pairs.

We didn't need the Pokédex to tell us what they were as the Gastly swarmed out, shooting towards us. They surrounded us, trailing purple, spectral energy behind them.

"Ghost type," Owen said. "Shit. I think we only have Normal type moves right now."

"Not all of us," I said, checking my own Pokédex, holding it out towards Fennekin. "Fennekin has Ember."

"Then get ready," Tim said.

One of the Gastly swooped in suddenly, and my first Pokémon battle began for real.

"Ember!" I said, and Fennekin lowered himself to the ground, firing off a burst of fire from his mouth. The fireball hit the Gastly and sent in spinning away.

The other three dived, two of them going for Tim and Treecko, the other going for Owen and his Pokémon.

"Growl!" Owen yelled, and Piplup took a step forward, opened his tiny beak –

- And let out a high, threatening growl. The Gastly wasn't hurt, but it seemed to be sent back.

Treecko leapt out from Tim's backpack as the two Gastly approached.

"Treecko, use Leer!" Tim cried, and the Wood Gecko Pokémon's eyes glowed, piercing the darkness of the night. The two Gastly seemed to waver, wary. Their defences were lowered, and Tim nodded to me.

"Now!"

"Fennekin, use Ember!" I called. The Fox Pokémon bounded forward, leaping, and let out a burst of fire that slammed into one of the Gastly.

The Ghost type swung from side-to-side in mid-air, and fell.

One left.

Or so I thought.

The first one I'd taken out loomed up behind Fennekin. Before I had time to call out, the Gas Pokémon's long tongue lashed out, smacking into Fennekin's legs. My Pokémon hit the dirt.

"No!" I yelled. I sprinted towards the Fire Pokémon as the two remaining Gastly loomed up above him. Fennekin tried to struggle to his feet, but he trembled, and slumped down again.

"He's paralyzed," I heard Owen say as I rushed towards him.

"Stop!" Tim bellowed, grabbing my arm. I broke free and grabbed Fennekin off the ground.

"_Gassstlyyy…" _one of the two Ghost types snarled, baring its fangs.

"Aaron, what the hell are you doing?" Owen yelled.

"Back off," I said, doing my best to seem threatening. These bastards weren't going my friend.

The Gastly didn't seem to be very convinced. They lunged, and I shut my eyes –

- And suddenly, Piplup and Treecko stood in front of me.

"Alright," Owen smiled. "Use Growl again!"

Piplup attacked again, and the two Gastly seemed to be held back by the sound.

"Leer!" Tim commanded and Treecko's eyes shone once more. The two Gastly shuddered, edging further away.

Fennekin seemed to be growing warmer and warmer in my arms. Then it dawned on me.

"This must be Blaze," I muttered. "OK…let's try this again. Fennekin, Ember!"

The Fire type hurled himself up at the two attackers, and opened his jaws, revealing small, sharp fangs. A fireball, larger and more intense, hit the two Gastly, sending them flying into the woods.

There was silence.

For about three seconds.

"Anyone else starving?" Owen asked.

In spite of the serious events just having ended, Tim and I laughed. "Yeah, actually," Tim said. "Starving."

"I think there's a Pokémon Centre around here somewhere. Anyone else in the mood for sausages?"

"I'm always in the mood for sausages," I nodded.

So, we stood, and picked up the towels, and, returning our exhausted Pokémon to their Pokéballs, went off to find some sausages.


	4. The Hunter

**HOORAY FOR FREQUENT UPDATES!**

**Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.**

I woke up to the rather irritating feeling of being pecked in the face, repeatedly.

"Wha - ?" I muttered, opening my eyes. Then I realised what was happening. "Jesus! Get off!"

I sat up, shoving Piplup off of my bed.

Owen and Tim were in stitches laughing, doubled over. I scowled, rubbing my forehead, which was stinging from where the Water type had pecked at it.

"Why would you even do that?" I asked incredulously, standing up and throwing on a white, button-up shirt and shorts. "What would _compel _you to do that?"

"Well, you wouldn't get up, and I wanted a laugh." Tim shrugged, slinging his bag over his shoulder and tossing me my own. Owen returned Piplup. I walked to the door, opening it up.

We walked up the hall into the Pokémon Centre's lobby, which was obviously made to look like it did in the games. There was even a PC in the corner.

Tim paid the Nurse at the desk, and we walked out. The Pokémon Centre was established at the Halfway roundabout, not far from the woods where the Gastly had come from. We decided not to go through there after last night's events, instead walking along the main road.

We decided to head for the scenic route to Wilton, and took to high ground above the village. There was a couple of houses, and beyond that, woods and fields leading right up to Bishopstown, the town in which the Wilton Gym was.

Tim expertly assailed the grassy wall behind a house, pulling Owen and myself up after him.

We stood in a field, and, at the other side of it, there was another wood.

"Let's get going," Owen said, and began to trudge off. We followed, when suddenly, something purple barrelled out in front of us. It was a Nidorino.

The Poison type's horn was cracked, and it was scratched and bruised all over.

"What happened to it?" I mused, stepping back warily.

"Don't know…" Tim shook his head. "Been in a serious brawl."

A gunshot pierced the air and the Nidorino ducked something sailed over him. My eyes didn't even register it until it was lodged in the ground.

"A tranquilizer?" Owen knelt down, picking it up.

"Hey," called a gruff voice. "That's mine. Give it back, if it's not trouble."

A man came striding over then, a shotgun hefted over his shoulder. A Scyther crept out from the shadows behind him, sliding one blade-like claw along the other eagerly.

"Who're you?" Tim asked. Owen moved to give the dart back, but I held out a hand. This guy looked shady.

He was tall, hands calloused. His hair was grey, but he looked young to have grey hair, maybe in his forties. Two Pokéballs were tied to his belt.

"Evan Murphy," he answered. "My dart, please."

The Nidorino growled.

"Why were you firing at him?" I pointed to the Pokémon, who was lying down and breathing hard.

"You kids wouldn't get it," Evan answered, irritation sounding clearly in his voice. "Now, I'm in a hurry."

"Why. Were you. _Shooting?"_

Evan lifted his gun from his shoulder, cocked it, and aimed it at Tim. "Step aside, right now."

"Christ Almighty!" Owen held up his hands, trying to placate the man. "Put the gun down!"

"I don't want to hurt any of ye. Just move on and let me go about my business, please." The gun didn't waver. The Nidorino got shakily to his feet.

"What _is _your business?" I questioned pointedly.

Evan paused. "I'm a Pokémon hunter."

I took a step forward, enraged. A _hunter? _Who the hell did this guy think he was?

"Pokémon are as intelligent, if not more so, than most humans. They're not birds that you shoot for sport, asshole," I snarled. Tim shot a glare at me. He mouthed, '_reckless.'_

Evan's face tightened. "I don't do it for sport. Nidorino hides go for 500 euros if you know where to sell them. Nidoran venom can go for thousands."

And with that statement, I'd had it.

I pulled my Pokéball out of my jacket and released Fennekin in one fluid motion. The Fox Pokémon glanced around, saw the Nidorino, and seemed to get the situation. A puff of fire escaped his nostrils.

Evan's eyes widened and pointed the shotgun at Fennekin.

"_Those _are rare. Starters, right? Those are once in a lifetime."

"You son of a btich."

"Scyther."

The Bug/Flying type blurred, moving at incredible speed and in an instant, its blade was at my throat.

"Don't," I said, swallowing hard.

"Sorry, kid." Evan fingered the trigger, getting ready for the shot. "Money's tight. You know how it is."

"Pound!" Tim yelled suddenly. He must've sent out Treecko without me realising. The Wood Gecko Pokémon leapt, tail glowing white. He slammed his tail down on Scyther's head. The Pokémon, though far larger, staggered back.

"Run!"

We sprinted across the field, hoping desperately to clear the distance on time and get out of Murphy's line of clear sight.

I saw Owen pass me out. I looked back over my shoulder. Tim had Treecko on his shoulder and the injured, heavy Nidorino in his arms. He was really athletic, well-muscled, strong…but he was wheezing, and slowing down.

Scythe was gaining quickly, moving in great strides, hovering over the grass slightly. Evan took aim.

"Come on!" I yelled back. It was just a couple of feet to the woods, and the cover that the trees provided.

"I can't…" Tim grimaced and stumbled over a tree root as he approached.

A shot echoed across the fields, and the tranquilizer lodged in the bark, inches away from Tim's neck. He put Nidorino down and sprinted forward with Treecko. I followed as Murphy reloaded. His Scyther had paused.

I sprinted into the trees, and found Owen and Tim, leaning against a tree, panting. The Nidorino was at Tim's feet.

"This guy is insane," Owen said.

I nodded. "No kidding. We need to get out of these woods and into Bishopstown. We can…contact the authorities or some shit like that."

Tim shook his head. "We have to make sure this Nidorino's family is safe."

"Look, bro," I said, "I'm all for the righteous, good-guy choice. I want these Pokémon to be safe, really I do, but what're we gonna do about it?"

Tim's face hardened, and I felt a sharp pain on my leg. Fennekin had nipped at my ankle, hard.

I bent down.

"You really want them to be safe, don't you?" I asked. Fennekin nodded vigorously; face just as stubborn as my brother's. I relented.

"OK, alright. We get Nidorino back to his family," Owen said. He looked down t the injured Pokémon. "So where are they? Can you point us?"

Nidorino seemed to barely recognize the question and I noticed he had a bloodied, torn ear. Probably from the Scyther. A new hatred for Murphy flared up inside me. He wasn't going to get away with this.

The Poison type seemed to understand, though, and pulled on Tim's pants leg. He began to plod off to the right. I heard the trees rustle behind us, and Evan bark to his Scyther to find us.

"Shit," I swore, "We gotta get moving."

We set off quietly behind Nidorino, who was going slowly due to his injuries. Evan and his Pokémon seemed to have walked off on another path, probably assuming we'd head straight into town.

After a while, we reached a river.

It was wide, too wide to jump, but easy enough to wade across, if it wasn't too deep.

"Someone needs to check how deep it is," I said, stating the obvious.

"I can help with that!" Owen smiled and released Piplup. He quickly instructed the Water type to do as we needed, and he dived in without hesitation. A couple of seconds later, his head broke the surface again.

"Plup!" Piplup chirped, spreading his flippers wide, a worried expression on his face.

"Ah, shit."

Suddenly, something grabbed Piplup's foot. The Water starter scrabbled for the bank. Owen dived grabbing his flipper.

He pulled hard, and Piplup was yanked out. The thing that had grabbed his foot was still attached; a Carvanha.

"Son of a bitch," I said, for the second time that day.

"Absorb!" Tim said unhesitatingly, and green tendrils of energy shot from Treecko, latching on Carvanha and draining it of its power.

The Savage Pokémon broke off the attack, trying to get back to the river.

"Hit it with Quick Attack, before it gets away!" Tim continued. His Pokémon blurred, tackling Carvanha to the ground. The Water/Dark type struggled for a moment before relenting.

"Let's get going - …" Owen began, but Tim shook his head. He took out an empty Pokéball from his bag.

He threw it, and the Pokéball opened mid-air. In a red flash, Carvanha was sucked in and the sphere hit the riverbank.

We were all tense as the ball rocked back and forth. This was the first attempt we'd made to catch anything.

It rocked once, twice. And then there was a click and tiny puff of steam from the hinges of the Pokéball.

"Oh yeah!" Tim fist-pumped, picking up his Pokéball. He hugged Treecko, who seemed pretty uncomfortable with it, and grinned.

I gaped. That had been quick. Really quick. Tim was already a brilliant trainer.

"OK...here's an idea. Piplup, use Bubble on Aaron!" Owen said.

"Hang on, what - !" I managed to say before the attack hit me in the back and sent me sailing into the air. I hit the far side of the river, and climbed frantically onto dry land.

"What the hell?!" I shouted across.

"Got you there, didn't it?" Owen shrugged, and turned to his Pokémon. "Now hit me, and then Tim."

We were each hit across the river, Tim carrying the Nidorino. Treecko leapt across via an oak tree, and Fennekin managed a frankly extraordinary jump.

"OK," I asked the Nidorino, "which way now?"

He nodded to the left, and began to walk steadily through the trees. Strangely enough, there was a trodden-down path through the woods of overturned earth, like it'd been walked along many times.

Suddenly, I heard a crack from behind me.

I turned to see Owen, having just stepped on a thick branch.

"Oh, shit."

"I heard them! This way!" Evan's voice hissed through the trees at the other side of the river. Bushes were sliced out of the way and his Scyther emerged, the hunter himself following close behind. He aimed and fired. Owen dived, the shot sailing over his head.

Another shot lodged itself in a tree. "Get going!" I yelled.

"Fennekin, Ember!" I said and Fennekin let out a burst of fire that set the woods floor alight. "Again!"

Fennekin sprayed Embers until there was a veritable wall of fire along the riverbank. Then, we ran.

Fennekin and I quickly caught up with Owen, Tim and Nidorino. I staggered into a clearing when I saw them, hands on knees, looking down, panting.

"Phew…that was…that was close."

When Owen and Tim didn't reply, I looked up. And then my jaw dropped.

In the clearing, stood a herd of the Nido Pokémon. Nidoqueen grazed near their young, and Nidoran scampered around. Nidoking slept in the shade of trees that also protected the clearing from being seen from the road.

"This is your family?" I asked, glancing down at the Nidorino. He nodded shakily. A Nidoqueen suddenly came barrelling towards us.

I backed up, falling on my arse. Owen screamed like a girl. Tim sidestepped frantically.

The Nidorino stood in between us and the charging Poison/Ground type.

The two Pokémon exchanged a series of growls, Nidoqueen roaring occasionally. The Pokémon glared at us, but then her expression softened. She stepped back.

A mal Nidoran came out from behind her, and ran up to the Nidorino, nuzzling it.

"Is this…your brother?" I asked, kneeling down. Nidorino seemed to understand the question, and nodded. Wow, Pokémon were intelligent. A female Nidoran came up the injured Nidorino as well its sister, probably.

Suddenly, a Mighteyana bounded from the trees and rammed into the Nidoqueen, entire body glowing.

That must've been Take Down, I thought. I was snapped out of my thoughts when Evan burst into the clearing, flanked by his Scyther.

"You boys have given me an interesting afternoon, I'll give you that," he growled, "but now I've got you. And a whole lot else, too."

Tim, Owen and I stepped protectively in front of the Nidorino and his siblings. The Nidoqueen stepped up alongside us. The other Pokémon in the clearing seemed to be cowering among the trees. Even the Nidoking simply watched from afar.

"One more chance, lads. Step aside and give me those Pokémon."

"Get through us and you can have them," Tim challenged.

"Fine by me," Evan sighed and fired.

Tim dived aside and a Mighteyana threw itself at him.

"Howl!" I yelled and Fennekin and let out a deep, well, howl, and his eyes glowed.

"Ha! Scyther, cut them down!" Evan growled and his Pokémon rushed forward, blades swinging. Fennekin met the attacker with a Howl-boosted Scratch that sent Scyther reeling.

"Piplup, use Bubblebeam on Mighteyana!" Owen cried. His Pokémon sent a stream of glowing, energy-charged bubbles at the Dark type that had Treecko pinned.

The attack hit it in the side, and it was sent flying off.

Evan fired at the Nidorino's siblings, who were trying to scamper away, but the Nidoqueen threw herself in the way of the shot.

The Nidoqueen collapsed. I rushed to her.

I quickly glanced at where she'd been shot.

"No more tranquilizer rounds," I breathed. The Nidoqueen's eyes were open, but all life had gone from them.

I turned, and Evan met my eye. He backed up, aiming for me.

"Fennekin, Ember!" I shouted, and the Fire type let out a fireball that hit the hunter's shotgun, sending it out of his hands.

Suddenly, his Scyther loomed behind me. I whirled to see it about to bring down its blade on the small male Nidoran…

…and, not thinking, dived in front.

The pain was searing, and I hit the grass. I glanced at my leg. The cut wasn't too deep, but it was bleeding.

That's probably why I blacked out, come to think of it.

* * *

><p>I woke up in a bed in a Pokémon Centre. Tim said he and Owen had yanked my unconsciousness ass all the way to Bishopstown, and the nurses had managed to patch my leg up.<p>

Evan Murphy had been brought to the police, and was looking at serious jail-time for, among other things, poaching and attempted murder. He'd been in a ton of debt, apparently. That didn't make what he'd done right, though.

"And by the way…" Tim said as he stood up to leave the room. "Nidorino wanted you to have this. He basically thought that, now his mother was gone, who'd look after him properly?"

Tim tossed a Pokéball onto my bed. I clicked the button, and there, on the bed, was the young Nidoran male.

"Owen got the sister," Tim said as he walked out. "Anyway, you better rest up. Tomorrow, we head off to Wilton."

**THIS SHIT WAS LOOOONG.**


	5. The Wilton Gym

**OK! This chapter will be the first gym battle! I'll probably be stretching out the gaps between gyms from here on out, with a good few chapters in between. But anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.**

"Well. They certainly spared no expense."

We were standing outside what used to be Wilton Shopping Centre, and was now the first gym. It was a massive building, with purple, circular walls and a white roof that curved into a dome. People were pouring into its doors.

Tim was walking ahead of Owen and I, with our starters trailing behind us. The sun, surprisingly for Ireland, was beating down on us. It was usually either cold, wet, or both.

We'd decided to wait an extra day to head for the gym, giving us some time to train our new Pokémon.

We walked towards the doors, and they slid open. The lobby of the gym was positively packed, with the queue stretching back out of the door. We managed to shamefully, skip the cue, so we were only a few places away from the front.

Suddenly, I felt something jab painfully into my back. I was fairly sure it was an elbow.

"Hey! The hell are you - ?" I turned. And saw the last two people I thought I would.

"Well, it's a small world, isn't it?" smiled one of the two boys who stood behind me. One was tall, with blonde hair and sharp features, and the other was shorter, with greasy black hair that went down his neck.

It was Brian Carroll and Mick Shane, two people who'd been in my class at school. They were your typical thirteen year old assholes, all into _GTA _and _CoD, _and completely uncompromising to any other interests.

"Thought you were of the opinion that Pokémon was for babies?" I asked, stepping back.

"Jesus, Aaron, we was only joking," Mick lied, putting a hand through his dark mop of hair.

"I'm surprised you managed to leave your house. Isn't, like, six or more hours without _GTA V _fatal for people like you?" I asked. Brian scowled.

"Next!" called the receptionist, a brown haired woman who stood near the two double doors to the stadium.

"That's us!" Mick grinned.

"Hey, no it – …"

Before I had the words out of my mouth, I was sent stumbling by a hard shove to the chest. Brian grinned sadistically as the two stormed up in front of Tim and Owen, and walked through the double doors, pushing the receptionist aside.

"…Assholes," she said after a while.

"I know, right?" I sighed. Tim and Owen looked pretty pissed too.

"I don't get paid enough for this…" the receptionist mumbled sourly. She then glanced over at us. "Hey, if you want to see those guys lose, there's a balcony up there." She jerked a thumb to a nearby stairs.

Owen, Tim and I quickly scaled the stairs and looked out of the massive glass window that overlooked the stadium.

The arena was made of sand, and crowds of people sat in the stands. On one end of the arena stood Mick and Brian, and at the other stood a tall man with glasses and rolled up sleeves. His hair was black and lined with streaks of grey, and his rolled-up plaid sleeves were stained with suspiciously toxic-looking marks.

"That must be the gym leader," Owen commented. Tim and I shushed him.

A commentator, dressed in a white suit and black tie, stood on a raised platform above the stadium. "Welcome to the Wilton Gym, everyone! Ready for a battle?!" he called.

The crowd responded with a chorus of cheers.

"Alright! Its newcomers Mick Shane and Brian Carroll against the gym leader, Thomas!" the commentator announced. "The challengers have requested a double battle, rather than the usual 'both trainers fight two Pokémon each' method. That's fine with us, right?!"

The crowd roared again. Brian grinned widely.

"If that's all, then let's begin," the leader, Thomas, called. He pulled out two Pokéballs from the belt at his waist. "I'll allow you two to go first."

Brian and Mick paused, but then shrugged. Mick threw out a Spearow and Brian a Geodude.

"That wasn't politeness," Tim observed. "They were only allowed throw theirs out first so Thomas could see how good they are…and fight accordingly."

I nodded. Smart trainer.

Thomas released two Pokémon; a Grimer, two staring, white eyes and a gaping maw opening as the Poison type was released, and a Gloom.

"Spearow, Peck!" Mick yelled. The Tiny Bird Pokémon leapt, flapping its wings frantically and diving towards Grimer.

"Gloom." Thomas gestured to the attacking Pokémon. "Acid."

A spray of orange liquid burst from Gloom's slack mouth, hitting Spearow side-on and sending it spinning into the sand.

"Shite," Mick shouted belligerently. "Get up!"

"Geodude, Tackle!" Brian yelled. His Pokémon grunted and launched itself at Gloom.

Thomas was ready.

"Grimer, hold it."

Grimer slid across the sand and in moments, Geodude was engulfed, arms flailing.

"He's _good," _I said. "He knows not to let them fight as a team."

"Gloom, be prepared," Thomas warned his Pokémon as Mick's Spearow reared up.

"Get him!" Mick screeched angrily. "Go!"

Spearow took to the air once again, folding its wings in, diving towards Grimer to aid its comrade.

"Vine Whip!" Thomas called. "Then use Fling!"

His Gloom sprouted twin vines from its sides, and they encircled Brian's Geodude. The Rock type was lifted, and flung at Spearow, sending them both into the floor.

Grimer engulfed them both.

"I believe this settles it," Thomas said. "Clyde?" he glanced at the commentator.

"The…the winner is Thomas! Mick and Brian do not receive the Fume Badge! Hard luck, lads!"

The two boys looked dejected. They narrowed their eyes and stalked away after returning their Pokémon.

"Owen Sullivan, Tim and Arron Callahan. Please enter the arena."

**What? Never said it was the **_**heroes' **_**gym battle. That's next chapter.**

**:D**


	6. The Fume Badge

**OK, **_**now **_**it's time for Aaron and co.'s first gym battle.**

**Also, Blue-Eyed Cat has started a fanfic called the Waters of Tennessee, which will be tying into Wolfsthrope's series. Go check it out.**

**Disclaimer: Pokémon ain't mine.**

"That's us," Tim said and walked down the stairs, Owen and I following. Our starters trailed behind us. Treecko crawled along the bannister and leapt onto Tim's head. Piplup strutted down the steps, and Fennekin strolled leisurely behind him.

"Good luck," the receptionist said as she clicked a button on her desk and the two doors that led to the arena slid open. I took a deep breath, seeing the crowds in the audience.

"Get ready, everybody," Owen said.

We stepped out.

Tim seemed to slip into being in front of hundreds of people easily, waving with a bright smile up the seething mass of watchers. Then again, Tim slipped into everything easily.

Owen looked uncomfortable, but managed a smile. I just nodded, waving tentatively, and glanced at Thomas, who was selecting Pokéballs from his belt.

"Here we have Tim and Aaron Callahan, and Owen Sullivan, our next challengers! Because there're three of them, each will fight one Pokémon!" the commentator, Clyde, announced.

I nodded. Tim frowned.

"Hang on. Thomas has four Pokémon," he called up.

"Ah. Good question, Tim! See, as I was _saying, _each will fight one…but you'll have to select one of you to fight an extra battle!"

We glanced at each other. "So, who's up for it?"

I instantly responded to Owen's question, raising my hand. "That'll be me," I said.

"Good man! Give our three challengers a round of applause, people!"

The crowd erupted in cheers. I grinned.

"Step up, then," Thomas said, pulling out a Pokéball. "Let's see if you can beat me."

I nodded. Owen stepped forward.

"Break a leg," Tim muttered. "Not literally though. That might impede your logical thinking slightly."

Owen laughed. "Piplup. Get ready."

"Plup!" his Pokémon responded, face set determinedly.

"Hmm. Go, Gulpin!" Thomas said. I frowned. He was obviously saving Gloom, a Pokémon with a blatant type advantage, for later.

"Piplup, use Bubblebeam!" Owen took the initiative immediately, his Pokémon rushing at the green blob-like Pokémon and spraying a stream of energy-charged bubbles.

"Gulpin, Swallow," Thomas said. His Pokémon opened its maw, stretching its mouth incredibly wide. The Bubblebeam hit the inside of its mouth and dispersed.

"Shit," Owen swore. "Pip - !"

But Thomas interrupted. "Use Poison Gas!"

A blast of purple vapour expelled from Gulpin's jaws. Piplup dived aside just in time.

"Too close." Owen wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "Fury Attack!"

Gulpin moved to avoid the initial strike, but soon Piplup was on it, landing four sharp slices of his beak on the Poison type.

"Now!" Thomas shouted, "Swallow!"

"Run!" Owen yelled, but it was too late. Gulpin engulfed Piplup in its jaws, holding it fast.

"And now," Thomas sighed, "Finish it."

Gulpin reared back and slammed Piplup into the sand, hard. The Water Pokémon was then picked up again and hurled at Owen's feet.

"Dammit!" Owen growled, kneeling down to get level with his starter.

"I'm as disappointed as you, young man!" Thomas yelled. "Boredom is a killer!"

The crowd gave a loud 'ooh.'

"Shut up," I called from behind Owen.

"Come on." I heard Owen urge Piplup to his feet. "We can do this."

"Quite hardy, that Piplup." Thomas nodded to himself. "He'll do you good."

"Piplup, Peck!" Piplup sprinted towards Gulpin and leapt, folding in his flippers, flying like a missile towards the Poison type.

"Swallow!" Thomas commanded. His Pokémon's mouth went agape.

"Oh, not this time! Bubblebeam!" the attack nailed Gulpin in the back of the mouth and sent it reeling. Still Piplup shot like a bullet towards it.

"Gah! Use Sludge, stop him!" Thomas was the one sweating now, ironically enough. I could see it from the opposite end of the arena. He wasn't used to losing, obviously.

A glob of purple ooze shot at Piplup.

"Bubblebeam again, don't let it stop you!" Owen encouraged. The Sludge attack was blasted aside by another stream of water. Piplup slammed into Gulpin's still-open mouth, sending it flying.

The green Pokémon was still.

"Gulpin is unable to…" Clyde began.

"Hush." Thomas held up a hand.

And Gulpin rose.

"Shit," Owen groaned. Piplup was right up close to it now.

"Sorry, kid." The gym leader folded his arms. "An impressive show, but not enough. Gulpin."

The Poison type lurched forward, swallowing Piplup once more, spinning, and launching the Water type back into the sand.

"Piplup is unable to battle! The round goes to - !"

"Hey!" Owen stuck his hand up. "I've got another Pokémon! Don't call it just yet!"

"Interesting! The round will go on!" Clyde declared.

"Are you sure?" Tim asked. "It's your first time using her in a real battle."

"I'm sure," Owen responded, and released the female Nidoran in a grey flash of light.

"Alright," Thomas said. "Gulpin, Acid Spray!"

Gulpin unleashed a spout of bright orange liquid from its mouth. Owen's Nidoran glanced back.

"Like we practiced," he muttered.

Nidoran scampered off to the right, making a straight dash for Gulpin. The Acid Spray followed.

Nidoran continued to run, and halted right in front of Thomas.

The gym leader ducked as his own Pokémon fired the acid right over his head. "Stop!" he yelled.

"Now!" Owen said, "Double Kick!" and his Pokémon sprinted forward, turned her back, and landed two sound kicks into Gulpin's face. It hit the ground, unconscious.

"That was quick," I said.

"It was already weakened from Piplup, bear in mind." Tim stepped forward, Treecko on his shoulder. "I'll go next."

Thomas returned Gulpin and released Gloom.

"Pound!" Tim said and his Treecko leapt, turning in mid-air and slamming his tail down in between Gloom's perpetually-closed eyes. The Grass/Poison type was driven back a step.

"That one's tough," I said. "Glad I'm not facing it."

Owen nodded.

"Gloom, Vine Whip!" Thomas called. Vines snaked out from Gloom's sides and wrapped round Treecko's waist.

"Gotcha," Tim smirked. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"Absorb!" Tim yelled and tendrils of energy latched onto Gloom. The power was leeched from it as the attack took hold…and Gloom's vines still held Treecko firm, preventing either from escaping.

"Dammit," Thomas gritted his teeth, but he was smiling. "Acid!"

A torrent of burning orange liquid was unleashed, and Treecko was hit full on in the chest, sent spinning away. The Pokémon, despite this, landed on his feet.

Treecko's almost as good as Tim, I thought.

"Hit him again!" Thomas yelled.

"I don't think so…" Tim smiled. "Quick Attack!" and Treecko blurred, dodging the burst of acid and slamming full-on into Gloom, knocking it to the ground.

The two Pokémon wrestled in the sand, kicking and headbutting, punching and writhing.

"Gloom, get out of there," Thomas urged. Tim shook his head as the Grass/Poison type broke away from the fight.

"Let's try out our new move," he said. "Treecko, use Pursuit!"

Treecko sped towards Gloom, a blur encased in purple energy. He slammed off of Gloom and sent it spinning forwards, before hitting it again and driving it into the sand, unconscious.

Thomas returned his Pokémon, and Tim did the same.

"The last challenger steps up to the mark!" Clyde called. "Will Aaron Callahan win his group the Fume Badge?"

"No pressure, then," I murmured, stepping out in front of Tim and Owen.

"You've gotten this far," Thomas said, taking out one of his last two Pokéballs. "Don't disappoint your friends. Or me, for that matter."

I took out my Pokéball.

"Go, Nidoran!" I yelled, and my purple male Nidoran hit the sand. He glanced around nervously and backed up. I knelt down.

"Hey. Ignore them." I gestured to the crowd. "Just ignore them. Like we practiced. Just focus on…"

Thomas released his Grimer, wide, white eyes narrowed.

"…him." I pointed to Grimer. "Now, let's win this."

"Sludge!" Thomas yelled and a stream of purple ooze fired off at Nidoran. He rolled to the side, coming up and sprinting towards the Poison type.

"Hey! Dammit, I didn't say – …" I began, but Grimer had already hit Nidoran with another Sludge and sent him back at my feet.

"Nidoran. I didn't say to attack. You've got to listen next time, OK?" I said, trying to keep my irritation out of my voice.

He nodded tentatively, and turned back to Grimer.

"Grab him!" Thomas yelled and Grimer stretched out a hand, the sludge-arm extending towards Nidoran.

"Wait for it…" I said. Then, just as the hand was above Nidoran –

"Now! Jump, and hit it with Poison Sting!" Nidoran immediately did as asked. He leapt, the hand scrabbling at sand, and the fired off a purple needle of energy from his horn.

Grimer's arm was pinned to the ground beneath the layer of sand.

"While he's down, use Double Kick!" I said, and Nidoran bounded towards Grimer, and, just like Owen's, turned, and kicked it in the face. Grimer reeled.

"Finish it with Peck!" I called, and Nidoran lunged, jabbing with his snout.

"Minimize!" Thomas commanded and suddenly, Grimer seemed to seep into the sand, the ooze receding in on itself until it was just a small blob, which darted away.

"Shit," I muttered. I'd always hated when Grimer and Muk did this in the games. It was freaking annoying. "Look out."

"Strike! Use Mud-Slap!" Thomas barked, and Grimer rose up from the sand.

I didn't have time to call out before Grimer lifted a hand. The sludge it was made from was now brown, like mud. Grimer hit Nidoran's side, and sent him spinning.

"Finish it!" Thomas smiled triumphantly. "Pound!"

"Nidoran, dodge it!" and Nidoran managed to throw himself aside just in time for Grimer's fist to hit dirt.

"Good move." Thomas nodded.

"Cheers," I smirked. I could see Nidoran was just about hanging on to consciousness, though. That Mud Slap had been super effective.

"Grimer, Poison Gas!" and a jet of purple vapour came shooting from the Sludge Pokémon's maw. Nidoran was about to move, but I held up a hand.

"Stop! Wait…" I hoped my hunch was right. If my ultra-obsessed gamer memory served me right…

The gas enveloped Nidoran…and dissipated.

"It was a feint!" I heard Tim say from behind me. The crowd cheered.

"Nidoran, finish this off with Peck!" I said, and Nidoran charged, tackling Grimer, drilling through the ooze with his snout. Grimer was sent flying, knocked out.

"Grimer is unable to battle! The round goes to Aaron!"

The onlookers roared…and Nidoran collapsed, exhausted.

I rushed out, scooping him up in my arms. "Hey. _Hey. _You alright?"

Nidoran gave a weak growl. I sighed in relief. "Rest up." I returned him to his Pokéball and glanced down.

Fennekin stepped out in front of me.

"Right. Let's get ourselves a badge," I grinned. Fennekin yowled in agreement, and hunkered down.

"You've done well," Thomas said. "All of you. And you deserve the Fume Badge, I suppose…"

He tossed a Great Ball up and down in his hand.

"…_if _you can get past this one." He clicked the button and a massive snake, blue-black, with a red-edged blade for a tail, emerged in a grey flash.

"Well, hot damn," Owen remarked. "Seviper."

"Bite!" Thomas barked and his Pokémon lunged, snaking through the sand at incredible speed. Before I knew it, Fennekin was snatched up in its jaws.

"I don't think so, buddy," I said. "Ember!"

A fireball hit Seviper's forehead and burst on contact, leaving a darkened mark on the Pokémon's scales. Seviper screeched, and flung Fennekin aside.

The Fox Pokémon quickly got to his feet, and shot off another Ember. This time, however, Seviper ducked under it and lashed out with its tail, lifting Fennekin clear into the air and flipping him over and over.

"Howl!" I said, and, mid-air, Fennekin gave a loud screech. He landed, and then rushed towards Seviper.

"Scratch!" I shouted, and Fennekin's rushed Seviper, raking its neck with his claws. The attack was strengthened by the Howl, and Seviper cringed.

"Use Wrap!" Thomas directed, and Seviper coiled round Fennekin's body.

"Oh, bollocks," I said.

"And…Bite!" Thomas smiled, and Seviper threw my starter up, and caught it in its jaws with a firm bite.

Fennekin howled.

"Hold on! Use Howl!" I cried. Fennekin gave a screech like before. "Now, Ember!"

Another ball of fire hit Seviper's tail, and the Poison type slammed Fennekin down with a hiss.

"Poison Tail!"

Seviper's tail glowed a dark violet, and steamed with boiling toxins, before being slammed down on Fennekin.

"No!" I yelled. The Fire type writhed. "You've got to hold on!"

"Hit him again!" Thomas said, and Seviper did so. Fennekin continued to twist in pain.

"Howl one more time!"

And he was hit again.

"Now, get out of there!" I said, and Fennekin managed to stagger out of the way. Seviper's blade tail lodged in the ground.

"Not again…" Thomas sighed.

"Oh, yes again. See, did you not wonder why I just let you pound on him, and all I did was tell him to Howl?"

"So you could wait to have him power up." Thomas frowned.

"I could've just done that, and had him avoid, too. No, see, I needed him to be weak, and I needed his attack to be strengthened. So I could use _our _new move," I smiled.

Thomas sighed, and stepped back. "Go on then."

"My pleasure. Now that Blaze has activated…Fennekin, _FLAME CHARGE!"_

Fire curled around Fennekin, snaking around him, cloaking him in fire. And then, he charge, slamming into Seviper's head. The snake's tail was pulled from the ground as it was lifted clear off, and it hit the ground, unconscious.

The crowd roared like it had never roared before.

"Alright! The first Fume Badge of the day goes to Aaron and Tim Callahan, and Owen Sullivan!" Clyde yelled.

Thomas dipped a hand into his pocket and retrieved three shining objects as he strode towards us. He handed us the badges, shaped like a purple cloud.

"You've earned them, all of ye. Good luck."

**AT LAST, IT IS HERE!**


	7. The Tunnel

**OK! So, as I said before, there's going to be a sizeable gap between each gym battle, so just, y'know, bear that in mind.**

**Anyway!**

**Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.**

"Here," Tim said, "is the next gym." He tapped a finger down on the screen of his iPad and it zoomed in the map of Ireland.

"County Kerry? And we have to _walk?" _Owen said incredulously.

"It's fairly far, but c'mon. What'd we go on a journey for if not for this?" I asked, sitting up and trying to shake some of the grass from the hill we were sat on off my back.

"I didn't go on a journey to lose my legs," Owen muttered as he stood, and stretched. It had been two days since the Wilton gym. The post-victory had been marked with an enormous amount of chicken wings at Flannery's, a restaurant near the gym. After that, we'd rested up and now, we were in Bandon, having slept on a hill.

"Hey!"

Suddenly, someone came barrelling into Owen, and knocked back onto the grass. The person stopped for breath, looking down and clenching his knees.

Then he raised his head. He looked in his late teens or around there, with brown hair and blue eyes. Two Pokéballs were tied round his waist with a belt.

"Jesus, what's got you in a hurry?" Tim asked.

"Something's…chasing me…" the boy wheezed, short of breath. "A…Pokémon…had to be." He stood straight, regaining his composure a bit.

"Did you not see it?" I asked. Owen got back to his feet, muttering irritably.

"No, it was weird. Like, it stood right in front of me, but it was like my brain…just didn't want to register it. I couldn't look at it," the boy replied.

"Sounds weird," Tim said. "Listen, if you want any help – …"

"Please." The boy nodded vigorously. "Whatever it was, it took all my supplies. I was planning to get to the second gym soon, and that was all the food I had."

"OK…so, you've got to explain everything," Tim said, handing the boy a sandwich from his bag.

"Alright…my name's Liam Riordan. I was travelling alone, just coming up through Innishannon this morning, when the…whatever it was jumped me, took my stuff and knocked me out." He showed us a painful-looking bruise on his face. "I tried battling it, but you know…I couldn't look at it."

Tim nodded thoughtfully. "I have a hunch."

"What is it?" Owen asked. Tim opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but then he shook his head.

"Doesn't matter."

"So, any idea _where _it could be?" I asked. "If it's something that steals human stuff, it might need somewhere to stash it all."

Owen nodded. "Yeah, it'd need somewhere dark, secluded. You know, somewhere nobody would every think to look."

We all stared past his shoulder, down the hill, past the road.

"What?" Owen asked.

We all just stared. I folded my arms, smiling, waiting to see when he'd figure it out.

"What is it? Is…is there something on my shoulder, or…?"

And then he turned, and saw the huge, pitch-dark entrance to the old, abandoned railway tunnel, poking out of a hill like a massive mouth.

"Ah."

We made our way down to the tunnel, careful to avoid any passing cars, and stepped into the entrance. It was dark, and strangely, when we stepped in, all light from outside seemed to die away.

"OK," Liam said. "Getting freaked out again."

"I think I can help," I said. I fished a Pokéball from my pocket, and released Fennekin. He glanced around, took in his surroundings, and looked at me, puzzled.

"OK…every few seconds, I need you to release some fire. Think you can do that?" I asked. Fennekin nodded, and I petted him affectionately. "Awesome."

We walked through the dark tunnel, Fennekin puffing out flame from his nostrils every so often. After about ten minutes, we came to the other side.

Tim walked out in front of us. We were in a thick wood, which I knew lay on the other side of the tunnel.

"Hang on, that can't be right. If my hunch is right, then...this can't be right," he said, and turned around. "Back in the tunnel."

"Why?" Liam asked.

"He knows what he's doing," I said, and walked back into the darkness of the tunnel. I knew better than to disagree with Tim when he got like this. Liam and Owen followed.

"So, what'd you need us to come back in here for?" Owen asked, shuddering slightly as the light was shut off once more.

"Oh. _Oh," _Tim said. He'd figured out something, apparently. "Do you not hear that?"

Suddenly, I staggered back as a gust of wind hit me in the back and I felt fur brush my arm.

"Shit!" I heard Owen exclaim. Fennekin let out a burst of fire and I had just enough time left conscious to see the earthy ground open up beneath us.

I woke up in the darkness.

"Jesus," I said. "What the hell happened?"

There was no answer. I sat up, felt rock beneath my fingers as I scrabbled to my feet. I blinked, and as my eyes slightly adjusted to the blackness, I saw Fennekin on the ground.

"Hey," I said. "Come on." Fennekin straggled to his feet and gave a slight yowl. He licked my hand.

"Do you see Owen and Tim anywhere?" I asked. Fennekin puffed out fire and I saw it. Owen and Tim, on the ground. Liam lay next to them, propped up on against the wall.

I heard a growl from behind me.

"Ah, bollocks."

I turned and saw, illuminated by another jet of flame, four Zoroark, hunkered down, ready to strike.


	8. Into the Light

**Hey! At the weekend sometime, I'll be going back to the internet-less hell called Kerry for a while, so I might not be able to post any chapters then. But until them, I'll try and do a lot more chapters.**

**Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.**

I staggered back from the four Zoroark, one of which stalked towards me. Fennekin fired off an Ember, and suddenly, upon hitting the Zoroark, three of them disappeared.

"Illusion." I looked behind me. Tim was getting groggily to his feet. "That's Zoroark's ability. That's why Liam couldn't see it. My hunch was right."

"Dammit," I said. "So, there's just one?"

"Just one." Tim nodded. "It's still probably more than we can take. We need to wake the others and run."

The real Zoroark snarled and opened its jaws, spewing fire out at us in what was probably a Flamethrower. I dived aside, and Fennekin did the same. Tim pulled out a Pokéball and released his Treecko.

"Haven't gotten a chance to use Carvanha yet," he muttered.

"Yeah, bummer. Can we concentrate now?" I asked irritably as the Zoroark cut off its own attack and bounded forward, arms coated in dark flame. The Dark type leapt into the air, and raised its arms above its head.

"Treecko, Quick Attack!" Tim yelled and his Pokémon blurred, slammed into Zoroark, and landed, having interrupted the move. Zoroark dropped to the ground, crouched low.

"Fennekin, use Ember!" I shouted, and Fennekin sent a ball of fire right into Zoroark's face. The Illusion Fox Pokémon reared back, and Fennekin went barrelling into it, sending it sprawling.

It gave a yowl and grabbed Fennekin by the scruff of the neck before flinging him into the oncoming Treecko. Both my and Tim's Pokémon tumbled to the rocky floor.

The Zoroark loomed above Treecko, claws glowing with dark power for a Night Slash.

Suddenly, a tongue lashed against Zoroark's chest. The Pokémon shuddered and stepped back. Liam was standing now with a Frogadier crouched at his feet.

"Don't take my stuff."

He took his second Pokéball from his belt and released a Magnemite. The Electric and Steel type rose into the air.

The Zoroark seemed to know what was happening. It backed off warily, not taking its eyes off of us for a second. Eventually it disappeared into the shadows.

Owen sat up. "What'd I miss?"

"A fair bit," Tim answered. "Any clue where we are?" he asked.

"Underground, I think." I thought back to just before I'd woken up in this place, when the ground gave way beneath us. "Under the railway tunnel."

"We need to get out." Owen stated the obvious.

"And get my stuff back," Liam added.

I looked around the cave, squinting into the blackness around us. The cave was dark all around, but I spotted a patch of deeper black a couple of metres ahead of us.

"There…there's an entrance!" I pointed to the opening. We walked towards it, followed by our Pokémon. I released my Nidoran, and Owen released both his Pokémon, just in case the Zoroark decided to make a comeback.

The opening was a pretty tight squeeze, but I managed to fit through it, due to my being about as thin as an anorexic stick.

Tim, being pretty in shape, fit through as well. Liam did too, and, with some trepidation, Owen.

We ducked down a long, low-ceilinged cavern, until eventually we heard something behind us. A scampering noise, stones rolling along the floor.

A snarl.

"Shit!" I yelled. "It's back! Run!"

We barrelled along the cavern as fast as possible, but the ground was damp and the roof was so low that we needed conscious effort not to crack open our skulls.

I felt hands pulling me to the ground as a jet of fire soared over my head.

We neared the end of the path, with Tim, Owen and Liam going out before me. Nidoran, Fennekin and I stood in front of the opening, slightly wider than the last, to guard them.

"Aaron, the hell are you doing?!" Tim yelled as I shoved him through the opening into the slightly brighter cavern on the other side.

"I'll hold it off!" I called over my shoulder as Zoroark crept forward. A shaft of light shone down on it through the cavern roof.

"Fennekin, Scratch!" The Fox Pokémon leapt, scrawling Zoroark's chest. The Dark type snatched the Fire type up, held him high…

"Nidoran, don't let it hurt him! Double Kick!" And Nidoran bounded forward, turned and slammed tow kicks into Zoroark's face. The Dark type reeled and my two Pokémon landed at my feet.

"Aaron!" I heard Owen yell.

"Go!" I said.

"_Ran?" _Nidoran tilted his head and looked up at me. I nodded.

Suddenly, the Zoroark appeared behind Nidoran and Fennekin, claws glowing with dark energy, and slashed down on both of them. My Pokémon slammed into opposite ends of the wall.

"No!" I rushed over to Nidoran, and Zoroark raised a Shadow Ball in its hands. The Illusion Fox Pokémon raised the Shadow Ball in its hands, before slamming it down on the ground.

Only the edge of the attack threw me into the rocky cave wall. I was winded, and struggled up to my feet once more. Fennekin limped over to me, and Nidoran stood in front.

Guarding me, just like I'd done for my friends.

"OK," I said. "One more time."

"_ZOROARK!" _Zoroark screeched, and leapt forward.

"Nidoran, Double Kick! Fennekin, Flame Charge!" I yelled, and my two Pokémon jumped to meet the attacker. Fennekin was cloaked in flame and Nidoran was flipping over, ready to slam into the Dark type.

"Stop!"

A Cloyster appeared in between them suddenly, its shell fending off both attacks with ease. The Zoroark and my Pokémon dropped.

Liam ran out. The Cloyster was his, obviously.

"What?" I asked. Liam sighed.

"Come inside the next cavern, and I'll _show _you what." He gestured to the opening. Zoroark stepped back.

Liam led me inside the next cave and my jaw dropped.

Another Zoroark, slightly larger than the first, was curled up in the centre of the room. There was a massive gap in the stone in the roof, letting in sunlight. Snuggled up to their mother lay a Zorua.

"Oh," I said. Tim and Owen stood, arms folded.

"Nice one."

The first Zoroark crept in and lay down beside the cub.

"The Zoroark took Liam's stuff because it needed to feed its baby and the mother." Owen pointed to a rucksack propped up against the corner of the cavern. "It only attacked you so you'd run away. When it saw you approaching this place, it tried to stop you."

I nodded.

The second Zoroark stood. It pointed a claw to the opening in the roof and grunted.

"I think that's our exit cue," Tim said, and climbed up, leading us into the light.


	9. The Lights On the Mountain

**Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.**

I woke up in the Pokémon Centre, with the sun filtering in through the curtains and shining into my eyes. I quickly got dressed into shorts, a T-shirt and my grandfather's old bomber jacket. I quickly fetched my Pokéballs from the shelf and went downstairs to find Owen and Tim, already eating at one of the tables in the lobby. We'd said goodbye to Liam a few days ago now, just after the event with the Zoroark family.

"Hey," I greeted sleepily, and sat down at a third seat. Owen grunted through a mouthful of bacon, and Tim nodded, watching the TV in the corner of the room.

I got myself a croissant and began munching on it. I looked up to the TV to see a news report.

On the screen, a reporter stood in front of a large, imposing mountain. He held a microphone in his pudgy hands.

"…And late last night, in this region of the Kerry mountains, strange lights of green, blue and pink described as similar to aurora borealis were sighted in the sky. An eyewitness who wishes to remain unnamed claims that her Pokémon became unusually agitated and that the intensity of her Charmeleon's fire increased until it was an almost blue colour. Investigations are being launched into these strange occurrences tomorrow evening. I'm Brian Hughes, and that's the news."

Tim turned round to us. "That's weird, huh?"

"Well." Owen sat back in his chair, hands behind his head. "I suppose they'll figure that out."

"Yeah," I said. "Or. Y'know."

Owen narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I glanced at Tim. He shrugged. "Got nothing better to do today."

Owen stood up.

"In the words of the great Samuel L. Jackson, aw no. Aw _hell _no!" he shook his head vehemently. "We're not going in there!"

"But we're bored, Owen. Very bored," Tim said gravely, though his seriousness was slightly lessened by the mouthful of sausage he spoke through.

"But it's _dangerous!"_ Owen pointed to the TV for emphasis. "It's really freaking dangerous!"

"So?" Tim said. "We've got Pokémon. We'll be grand."

Owen sighed. "Fine. If I die, I'm gonna come back and haunt your ass."

* * *

><p>"OK," I said. "I'll pack a bag."<p>

A couple of minutes later and we were walking through the hilly ground of the Kerry Mountains. We'd reached the actual county yesterday, but the gym was at the direct other side of the mountains.

Tim had marked out the particular mountain we were looking for, one not too far from where we were now, on his Pokédex. The GPS app on it tracked our distance from it.

As we neared the mountain, my Pokéballs began to shake in my deep jacket pockets. I stopped.

"Hey, wait up." I held up a hand and dipped the other into my pocket, taking out Nidoran's Pokéball. It was shaking violently. Tim and Owen strode over to see what was happening.

"Whoa. Why is doing that?" Tim asked.

"I don't know," I said. "It just started." I squinted at it for a few more seconds before deciding to release Nidoran to see what was wrong.

Which, as it turns out, was a mistake.

The small, purple Poison type was released in a flash of grey light and the instant he was free, he gave a growl and stepped back warily.

"Hey." I bent down and outstretched a hand. Nidoran stared at it like it was a gun being pointed to his head, before lunging, and pecking at it with his snout.

A long, but shallow cut was sliced along my hand and wrist. "Ow!"

I lurched back, standing up and cradling my hand. "What the hell was that for, huh?!"

Nidoran snarled again and scampered off into the distance, bounding away across the rocky mountainside.

"Why did he do that, do you think?" Tim asked, staring after the fleeing Poison type.

"I don't…I'm not sure." Truth be told, I was aghast that one of my Pokémon would even do that. Was it me? Was I a bad trainer? Had I done something wrong?

"Well, I suppose we'll have to find out." And with that, we began to sprint after Nidoran, who was quickly becoming a tiny, purple dot in the distance. We ran as fast as we could, eventually coming to a stop at a narrow, rocky path that snaked up the mountainside to a cave opening.

"We see _waaayyy _to many caves. It's getting weird," Owen groaned. Despite the situation, Tim and I laughed. It was true; the amount of caves we found ourselves in was worrying.

Nidoran paused at the opening of the cave, and suddenly, a blast of light exploded out of the darkness. I threw up my arms in front of my face, trying to block out the onslaught of blue, purple, green and yellow.

The light faded as fast as it had flared, and Nidoran was gone.

"Well, shit."

We ran up the winding path and, without hesitation, entered the mouth of the cave.

* * *

><p>It was dark inside.<p>

At first.

The cave was soon lit up by pulsating crystals, emanating light of the colours we'd been blinded by outside.

"OK…as I said before…getting weird." Owen went pale.

"What are these…?" Tim mused walking over to the walls. Every metre or so, three claw-like rocks jutted from them in a roughly triangular shape.

"Not sure. Have one of your famous hunches, by any chance?" I asked with a smile. He shook his head, still examining the rocks.

"Whoa!" Owen suddenly staggered, and one of his Pokéballs launched itself from his belt. It hit the ground and, upon hitting the stone, opened in a grey flash. Piplup was released, and turned, before Pecking Owen in the chest, winding him.

He landed unceremoniously on his arse, and looked appalled as Piplup ran. Tim released his Treecko, telling him to use Pursuit, but the Wood Gecko Pokémon only swiped at him with his tail and took off.

"Hey!" Tim yelled. "Get back here!"

His Pokémon just disappeared into the darkness.

We walked off after it, cautiously moving through the long, winding cavern that must've gone inside the mountain itself.

Eventually, the cavern widened out, and we found ourselves at the edge of a lake. In the centre was a patch of damp rock, and on it, our Pokémon stood, crowded around something that glowed so bright it made the dark, underground room look bright.

"Ah."


	10. The Mega Stone

**OK, so nobody seems to have figured out what the something is, but I'll say; it's from Gen VI. Before you go on, leave a review with your guess, for a bit of fun.**

**Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.**

We edged closer to the glowing _thing, _moving as quietly as possible when your footsteps echo around the room.

Tim held up a hand for us to stop before advancing slowly, and moving up behind the Pokémon gathered around the light.

He glanced over it and his jaw dropped.

"What?" I hissed, keeping quiet, though I wasn't even sure if the enthralled Pokémon could hear me. "What is it?"

"You won't believe it." Tim beckoned us over and we crept closer.

It was a crystal. Pulsating in the same colours as those on the wall, it was a small, spherical crystal. In its centre was a leaf-like design, carved into the glass-like material it was made from.

"A Mega Stone," I breathed. "That's a Mega Stone."

"It is." Tim nodded. "One of those that go into your Mega Ring in Pokémon X and Y. These guys must be attracted to it."

"Well…we need our Pokémon back," Owen said. "How can we snap them out of it?"

"Not sure." Tim shook his head. "Maybe we need to get the Mega Stone away from them."

I hesitated. "But…who's to say they won't just attack us like before?"

"Nobody. We might have to battle them, if need be," Tim answered calmly. I frowned.

"But…they're our friends."

"Think of it like a very intense training session, then," Owen interrupted. "But we gotta do this."

I still wasn't sure, but I nodded anyway.

Owen moved forward, reached over the heads of Treecko, Piplup and Nidoran…

…and snatched up the Mega Stone.

Instantly, the Pokémon turned. And then they lunged.

"Shit!" Tim yelled, and then he smiled. "Oh my God."

"What?!" I questioned, releasing Fennekin. He seemed to be affected by the Mega Stone for a moment, but quickly snapped out of it, as did Owen's Nidoran Female when he released it.

"There's a body of water, guys!" Tim took out his Pokéball. "_I can finally use Carvanha!"_

He released his Pokémon in a grey flash, and it landed in the lake. The Water and Dark type gnashed his fangs eagerly.

"Aqua Jet!" Tim yelled and just as Piplup was about to Peck his intestines out, Carvanha rammed into it, the water from the lake surrounding him like a bullet of brine. The two Pokémon hit the stone floor, tussling violently.

Treecko swung his tail at Owen's head, but he ducked, and cried;

"Nidoran! Poison Sting!"

Nidoran launched a glowing needle of purple energy at Treecko, who was caught in the back. He hit the ground on his knees and Nidoran finished him off with a Tackle.

My own Nidoran sprinted towards Fennekin.

"Sorry, but I have to do this," I said. "Fennekin, intercept it with an Ember!" A ball of fire hit Nidoran, bringing his charge to a halt.

"Flame Charge!" I continued and Fennekin nodded, barelling into Nidoran, cloaked in flame. Nidoran flew into the air and landed in the lake with a splash, unconscious.

I quickly ran to retrieve him, and put him back in his Pokéball. I saw Owen and Tim do the same with their Pokémon.

I walked back over to the two.

"So, what now?" Tim asked, sighing. "We should really get this stone out of here." He held up and squinted at it.

I nodded. "Could be useful though."

"You need the second stone though, don't you? You need that, and one for the particular Pokémon mega-evolving," Owen pointed out. I shrugged. I hadn't really thought about that.

Owen walked out of the cavern, followed by me, back into the long, winding corridors of stone with the three claws jutting from the walls.

"Still don't know what these are," he mused, poking one.

Tim walked out of the cavern soon after, and suddenly, the whole world seemed to snarl.

The floor cracked, and the rumbling noise grew louder. The walls began to splinter, rocks tumbling this way and that.

"Oh, bollocks," I said, looking at Tim. He held the Mega Stone. And then it dawned on me.

"You've done some Indiana Jones type shit!" Owen exclaimed, saying exactly what I was thinking. "You took the Mega Stone and the whole place caves in!"

Tim shook his head. "No. That's not it. That's not it _at all._"

"What is it then?!" I called over the din of the breaking cave. And then, once again, it dawned on me. I looked at the walls.

"Oh no."

The three claw-shaped structures, which we had thought were rocks, were detaching themselves from the walls. And breaking the whole damn cave apart. One of them, near me, slid out…

…and revealed its whole form. It was a Beldum, its single red eye shining through the darkness.

"_RUN!" _I yelled, and sprinted off. My friend and brother quickly ran behind me.

More and more Beldum were detaching themselves from the wall, floating after us, claws glinting.

"They want the Mega Stone back!" Owen bellowed as we rounded a corner. One of the Beldum charged at him, and he dived, rolling and coming up with a stumble. The Beldum, which had just used Take Down, rammed into one of its subordinates.

One of them took a swing at me and I dodged to the side. It recovered in mid- air and charged again. This time, Fennekin leapt to my defence, Flame Charging it into the ceiling.

Bad move, as it happened.

The roof began to fall, and yet more Beldum came. Rocks hit the floor all around us and by now, my muscles were screaming for me to stop running.

Just then, I tripped.

"No!" Tim yelled, and dived towards me. I tried to scramble to my feet, and while I did, I spotted a gleaming silver-and-grey shape amongst the falling stone.

I picked it up and felt its smooth, spherical shape in my hand as I stuffed it into my jacket pocket.

We turned yet another corner and finally, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

I pressed the speed on, well aware that the ravenous horde of Pokémon was gaining. I leapt out of the cave's mouth and onto the dusty path.

Tim and Owen followed me. The cave was almost done collapsing, having buried most of the oncoming Beldum. We thought it was over…

Until one of them, Take Down-ing towards us murderously, launched itself out of the cave's mouth and towards Fennekin.

"Ember!" I cried, and Fennekin launched a fireball at the Iron Ball Pokémon. It reeled, spinning slightly, and then slashed out with its claws. Fennekin was hit, and sent rolling away.

Beldum loomed over him.

"Stop!" I rushed towards it, and, very unwisely in retrospect, kicked it.

This achieved absolutely nothing other than giving me a searing pain in my big toe, but it nonetheless got Beldum turned its head, eye narrowed irritably.

It was focused on me, and I glanced at Fennekin. I nodded subtly at Beldum. Fennekin seemed to understand, and got to his feet, eyes glowing a deeper red. Blaze had activated. Oh yes.

The Beldum backed up and prepared another Take Down, but then, Fennekin used Howl behind it. It turned.

And Fennekin used Flame Charge, embedding the Steel/Psychic type in the dusty ground.

Without hesitation, I took a Great Ball from my pocket, and threw it.

There was a flash of light, and the ball hit the ground, and rocked once, twice, three times.

And clicked.

"Yes!" I whooped, and lifted the Great Ball up. "_Yes!"_

"Good work…" Tim said, breathing hard. He smiled slightly. Owen applauded sarcastically.

"Can we _leave?" _he asked.

I nodded, panting, exhausted.


	11. The Battle for the Campsite

**OK, I realize my A/N was silly last time, what with the chapter title being what it was. Ignore it. **

**And also, less than a month until Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Words cannot describe the hype.**

**Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.**

"So, what do you think it is?" Owen asked, reclining against the bark of a tree and yawning, stretching his arms out.

I shrugged, turning the grey and yellow orb I'd picked up in the cave around in my hands. We'd set up camp here last night, in a forest between the mountains after walking a little ways from the collapsed cavern. Tim was out, walking with his Pokémon and checking out the area.

"No clue," I said. "Although as Tim tends to say, I have a hunch." Owen chuckled.

"He does say that a lot. So, mind sharing your assumption, oh enlightened one?" he asked, sitting up straight.

"I _think _it's Metagrossite," I said. Owen raised his eyebrows.

"Metagrossite? Like, what Metagross uses to Mega evolve?" Owen questioned. "If you're right, Aaron, that is one _badass _motherfucker of a Pokémon you're going to have," he stated bluntly.

We were silent for a moment, before bursting into fits of laughter. After we'd stopped doubling over, I straightened up and pocketed the orb.

"Well," I said. "We'll just need to wait until Beldum evolves fully to see."

On that note, I released my three Pokémon. Nidoran and all the other Pokémon that had been entranced by the Mega Stone were all back to normal by now, though as to why, I wasn't sure.

Fennekin curled up at my feet and Nidoran set about investigating his surroundings. Beldum stuck its claws in the ground and remained completely motionless.

I stared at it. It stared past me into the distance. I sighed. "I bet you were the life and soul of the party back in your cave."

Suddenly, we heard voices through the trees. I heard one male, one female. Just then, two people walked into the small clearing we'd set up camp in.

One was tall and lanky, with hair down past his shoulders. The other, the girl, had short, blonde hair and had a Fletchling perched on her shoulder.

"Hey!" Owen greeted.

"Hi," the girl said.

There was an awkward silence for a second, before the boy spoke.

"I'll set up the tents," he said, and set his rucksack down before taking out what looked like tents and sleeping bags.

"Excuse me!" I said, gesturing around. "With all due respect, we were here first. It's a pretty small clearing."

"And the only one for about two miles."

Tim had just walked through the trees, hands in his pockets, followed by Treecko. Carvanha was rested awkwardly on his head.

"Well, where else are we meant to sleep?" the girl asked. "There's all kind of things in there. Houndour and everything. It gets dangerous at night."

"Well," Owen smiled. "This clearing ain't big enough for the five of us."

The boy stopped. "So, one of our little groups has to leave?"

"I do believe so," Tim said. "And as we said, we were sort of here before you guys, no offence."

"I think I just thought of a solution, then." The girl smirked. She took out a Pokéball from her pocket. "Double Battle. Winner take all, and by all, I mean this tiny patch of land."

I glanced at Owen. "Fine by me." He shrugged.

"Before we battle, might you introduce yourselves?" Tim asked.

"Of course," the boy said. "John Mullen. And this is my sister, Eva."

"OK, let's skip the formalities. I'm in the mood for a delicious sandwich whilst sitting on the only patch of comfortable ground for two miles," I said.

Tim plonked himself down on the grass. "I'll sit this one out."

Owen nodded, and pulled out a Pokéball. "Piplup, go!"

The small, blue and white penguin was released. He cooed confidently and folded his flippers.

I glanced at my Pokémon and thought for a moment. Fennekin was probably my strongest, but I thought maybe I'd use one of my two newer ones for a change. Alas, Nidoran was exhausted and Beldum…well, Beldum only knew Take Down.

But I decided to try him anyway. It was a Steel type, so I was sure it could make it through. "Beldum, you're up."

The Iron Ball Pokémon detached itself from the ground and floated over to take its place beside Piplup.

John released a Voltorb in a flash of grey light, and Eva sent out a Pumpkaboo.

A really, _really _big Pumpkaboo. I knew from the games that these Pokémon varied in size, but I always thought of it as an irrelevant feature that would have no impact on real life. But by God, this thing was about six foot four.

"Ready?" Eva asked.

"I may be having second thoughts about this," Owen muttered as he looked at super-sized Pumpkaboo eyeing us up like a tasty morsel of…whatever it is Ghost types ate.

"We're ready," I said for the both of us.

"Alright," John said. "Rollout!"

His Voltorb barrelled towards Piplup, who leapt, leaving Voltorb pass beneath him and slam into a tree, which shook with the impact.

"Now! Razor Leaf!" Eva yelled, and, while Piplup was mid-air and defenceless, Pumpkaboo launched a six leaves so sharp that they actually _glinted _up at him. They sliced into Piplup's feathers and the super-effective attack sent him flying.

"Catch him!" I called, and Beldum moved instantly, flipping upside-down and catching Piplup in his claws.

"Sonic Boom!" John yelled and Voltorb spun rapidly, firing off a shockwave at Beldum.

The Sonic Boom dispersed on contact.

"Oh," Eva said. "Crap."

"Sonic Boom is a Normal type attack, no?" I smirked. "You really should know better."

"Pumpkaboo, use Trick-or-Treat!" Eva said, smiling suddenly. Her Pokémon opened its jaws and a jet of purple vapour shot out and hit Piplup…

…Before fading completely.

"What was that?" Owen questioned. "What just happened?"

"You'll see soon enough," John said. "Voltorb, use Spark!"

A ball of electricity, sparks, shot from Voltorb towards Piplup.

"Beldum, launch Piplup away!" I yelled. Owen looked at me like I was completely insane.

Beldum reared back and flung the Water starter into the air. The Spark went wide, crackling and scorching the grass.

Piplup sailed into the air. "Peck!" Owen yelled, and his Pokémon dived, beak pointing down, before slamming into Pumpkaboo.

The Ghost/Grass type, despite its huge size, was send sprawling. It struggled to get back up on its short, stumpy legs.

"Screech!" John yelled and a high, unbearably loud noise burst out of Voltorb. I slammed my hands over my ears, and saw Owen do the same. Pumpkaboo got back to its feet and launched itself at Piplup, ramming him off his feet.

The noise faded. Voltorb launched a Rollout at Beldum and _this _time, my Pokémon met the attack with a Take Down without even being told to. It was like it was reading my mind.

Which, in hindsight, since Beldum is a Psychic type, it probably was.

Voltorb careened back into the trees, snapping branches as he was launched.

Piplup tried to get up from beneath Pumpkaboo's crushing weight, but was failing miserably.

"Peck!" Owen said, and his Pokémon jabbed his beak into Pumpkaboo's rump, making the massive Ghost type back off from surprise more than anything. I laughed.

"Funny, is it?" Eva snarled. "Shadow Sneak!"

And her Pumpkaboo vanished.

"Oh." I folded my arms. "That was a bit rubbish."

"Was it?" Eva said and pointed to Piplup. "Look there."

Suddenly, a shadow formed right behind Piplup, one that was not his own. Pumpkaboo rose from it, and slammed into Piplup, sending him sprawling. The blue penguin Pokémon hit the ground, unconscious.

"What?" Owen said. "That can't be right." He glanced down at his Pokémon. "That was super-effective! How?!"

"What do you think Trick-or-Treat was?" John grinned triumphantly. "It turns your Pokémon into a Ghost type, and guess what's super-effective against Ghost?"

"…Itself." I finished.

"Bang on." Eva nodded. "Ready to give up?"

"No, he isn't," Tim called out. "Beldum's still up."

"Not for long," Eva said. "Astonish!" Pumpkaboo moved at impossible speed and for a moment, it looked like it was gone, before appearing above Beldum and slamming into it.

"Beldum, get it off!" I cried. The Iron Ball Pokémon struggled but it couldn't heft Pumpkaboo off of it.

"Come on!" I yelled. "You can do this!"

But it couldn't be done, apparently. Pumpkaboo was crushing Beldum beneath its savage weight.

"Aaron! Catch!" Tim yelled, and threw something to me. I caught it and glanced at it. It was the Mega Stone from the cave.

Without thinking, I held it out. Beldum began to glow for a moment before suddenly heaving against Pumpkaboo, and throwing it off.

"No! How?!" Eva growled. I smiled.

"Take Down, finish this!" I said, and Beldum backed up before charging into the massive Ghost/Grass type, and sending it right through a thick oak.

The battle was over.

John and Eva had moved on, muttering angrily about their loss, and night had fallen. We'd been battling longer than I realised.

I turned the would-be Metagrossite over again as I tried to go to sleep, wondering what tomorrow would bring, if the stone really was Metagrossite, and what other mysterious things lay out in those mountains, framed by the Moon.


	12. The House in the Hills

**Hi! This chapter was comparatively long coming, but I'm tired, OK?**

**And I just watched a certain episode of Supernatural, involving a certain main character dying over and over and it was sad.**

**Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.**

"Hey." I pointed down, one hand still gripping the rocky ledge above me for safety. "Look there."

And there, couple of feet below us, just at the foot of the mountain, lay a house. It was stone, a farmhouse, probably, with slightly cracked windows. Apart from that, to someone who'd been traveling through mountains for days, it looked pretty nice.

"We gotta keep moving, man," Tim called from behind me. "We should reach the gym in a day or two."

"But this guy probably has _beds!" _Owen pleaded. "_Real _beds! Ones that nature didn't form! Ones made with sheets and pillows!"

"Come on, guys! We're fine. It's only a day or so away, and we're not short on supplies or anything," Tim protested.

Suddenly, something black rushed by me. I staggered away and ended up letting go of the ledge, and tumbling down.

Thankfully, the remainder of the mountainside seemed to be all grass, so the fall was relatively harmless. I landed, sprawled on my back, behind the farmhouse.

I saw the black thing bound away from Tim and Owen…

…Carrying our food bag in in its jaws.

"Hey!" Tim yelled after it, but it was already gone. There was silence.

"Well," I called up. "Better get down here. I'm starving."

After Tim and Owen made their way down to my position, Tim knocked tentatively on the door of the farmhouse. There was a light shining behind the curtains of a window to the right of the door, so someone was definitely home.

A moment later, the door swung open and a man stood in the doorframe. He was muscled, but also fairly heavy round the middle. A thick, grey beard covered almost the whole lower half of his face.

"Get inside," he said immediately, his voice gruff. "It's getting dark. That's when they come."

I glanced at Tim. He nodded, and I stepped inside, followed by everyone else. The house was dimly lit, and the lightbulbs actually had visible cracks in them.

The man led us into his kitchen, boiled the kettle and sat down.

"So, who are you?" Owen asked, getting straight to the point.

"My name's Darren Mills," the man answered, lacing his fingers and resting his chin on them. "Who are _you?"_

"That's Owen," Tim replied, "I'm Tim, and that's Aaron."

"Mm. Well, Tim, Aaron, Owen. Wait until morning and get the hell out of here." Darren leaned back in his chair and sighed. It was then that I saw his eyes; bloodshot and red-rimmed.

"Why?" I asked. "And who's 'they'? The things you said came out at night?"

Darren's jaw was set into a hard line. He looked grim. "The dogs. Red and black, they are, with horns like a ram. They can breathe fire. Killed my whole flock of sheep seven months ago. I've been under…siege, if that's what you call it, ever since."

"Seven months?" I asked. He nodded.

"Is that important?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

"No, probably not." I shook my head and caught Tim's eye. He nodded.

"Could I have a word, guys?" he asked, and led us back out into the hallway. Once we were standing safely out of earshot, I spoke;

"He doesn't know. About Pokémon. About anything. He's been holed up in this presumably internet-less house for seven months with no Pokémon of his own, and no information on anything," I said.

Tim nodded. "My thoughts exactly. And from the sounds of it, the things that attacked him are Houndoom."

"The same things that took our food, I suppose?" Owen inquired.

"I should think so," I said. "And we can't possibly take them on with _our _Pokémon."

"So, we've got no choice," Tim said. "Survive the night here and get going tomorrow."

"Are we going to tell him?" Owen asked. "About Pokémon?"

Tim thought for a moment. "Best not. From what I've seen of the guy, he isn't the type who'd believe us. Our friend Darren probably thinks he's under siege from the forces of _hell."_

I laughed slightly. We went back into the kitchen, and Darren handed us out a cup of tea each. He had black coffee. Trying to stay awake through the night, apparently.

After the tea, he showed us to a guest room. On one side, there was a bunk bed with dusty sheets, and on the other there was a single bed.

"Dibs," Owen climbed onto the top bunk of the first bed. I sat down on the bottom one, and Tim took the other bed.

We were just settling down to sleep hours earlier. Owen was already snoring like a thousand chainsaws. Tim was rolled over, face in the pillow, chest rising and falling silently.

I heard them first.

A low howl rose from outside, soon joined by many more. The howls were accompanied soon after by snarls.

I rushed over to the window, pulling the curtains aside. I saw them then; black and red shadows, circling the house slowly, never coming into the light.

Until one did.

This Houndoom was bigger than the rest, muscles bulging beneath its black fur. One of its horns was snapped off.

It opened its jaws and a jet of fire shot out.


	13. The Attack

**OK.**

**Nothing to say, at all. Just one of those day.**

**Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.**

I backed up from the window and shook Tim and Owen awake. They got up, groggy even though they'd been asleep for all of twenty minutes. I quickly informed them of the _PACK OF FREAKING HOUNDOOM _downstairs, and they rushed down to the kitchen.

Darren was heaving a bucket of water on the charred remains of the door. "Get upstairs!" he barked.

"No! We can help!" Tim shook his head and took out a Pokéball. I did the same, as did Owen.

"Carvanha, Aqua Jet!" Tim yelled as one of the Houndoom lurched towards the door. Tim's Pokémon emerged, shooting forward within a stream of water. The Houndoom was rammed backwards, rearing up on its hind legs and collapsing back.

The big one, the one who'd lit the door on fire, made no move. He just stood there, watching.

Another Houndoom barrelled forward, but Owen's Piplup staved it off with a Bubblebeam. "Shit!" he cried as the Houndoom snapped forward at him fur dripping wet.

"Hold out!" Darren barked. "Once the first attacks fail, they fall back!"

I released Beldum and Fennekin. A Houndoom bounded forward over the unconscious form of the one Tim defeated and gave an unearthly howl.

The Pokédex entries were right. It really did sound it was calling Death himself.

"Beldum, throw Fennekin!" Fennekin looked puzzled, but Beldum obeyed unflinchingly. It floated up, snatched the Fire type starter up and hurled him forward.

"While in the air, Howl!" I said as the Houndoom spat fire at Darren. He staggered back, shaking his sleeve wildly. It had caught, and was blazing steadily.

Fennekin unleashed a shout that seemed to boost his confidence as well as his attack. "Now come down with a double Scratch attack!"

Fennekin spun mid-air and slammed into the Dark and Fire type, scrawling it with two powered-up scratches. The doglike Pokémon snapped the legs of a coffee table clean off as it slid into the corner across the floor.

All was silent.

There was still around fourteen Houndoom, all slavering outside the burnt-out door.

"What are they waiting for?" Darren asked. He'd managed to smother the flames that had engulfed his sleeve, but a section had been entirely disintegrated. A sever, red scorch covered his forearm.

"Are you alright?" Owen asked, obviously noticing the same thing I had. Darren held up a hand to silence him.

The crowd of Houndoom parted and there, the moonlight shining down and making the muscle beneath its fur clear to see, stood the pack leader.

It observed us carefully. It was now I saw its broken horn up close. It billowed a sort of steam that lazily drifted upwards. There was something looked like ice covering the top of the stump. But of course, that was impossible.

"What do you want?!" Darren shouted, gripping his singed arm.

The Houndoom leader barked twice and stood back, growling a low, ferocious growl.

"Get inside," Darren said, not taking his eyes off the pack leader. "It's gonna be a long night."

After we got back inside, Tim sat down to explain the situation of Pokémon to our gracious host Owen and I were put on guard duty by the door, or ex-door, as it was.

"So, why do you think they're attacking him? I mean, Pokémon aren't generally vicious without, like, a reason," I asked.

Owen shrugged. "Maybe they're just angry. Everyone needs to eat."

I nodded, but I wasn't sold. It was something in the leader's eyes when he'd stepped back. "I think…I think maybe Darren did something to them. The way the big one looked at him…that was proper anger."

Owen seemed to have been thinking something similar, since he furrowed his brow and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it _was."_

He got up and strode into the kitchen, and I followed after him.

"What did you do?" Owen asked, standing over Darren and Tim, who were seated at the table. "What did you do to make them so angry?"

Darren glared at him. "What the hell do you mean, boy?"

"That Houndoom, the big one with the missing horn. It gave you a look, and I knew. Aaron saw it too. You hit first, didn't you?" Owen accused. Tim stood.

"Hey," he said. "Back off. Let's hear his side."

Owen nodded, and stood back, fuming. I folded my arms and leaned against the fridge. "Go on then."

Darren sat back. He didn't look guilty, or angry. Just sad, but in a sort of triumphant way.

"They came in the day the first time. Twenty of 'em, I'd say. Still had my shotgun back then."

Tim's eyes widened. "You didn't."

"_Of course I did,"_ the grey-haired man hissed. "Killed four of them, so I did. Good shots, clean deaths. All but the last one. That one still haunts me."

He looked up at us, meeting our eyes. He'd been staring intently at his shoes before.

"A pup. Crawled to right where I was stood and spat fire at me. And these things fires…" the man pulled up his pants leg, revealing a burn not unlike the one he had on his arm. "…the burns don't heal.

"You bastard!" I yelled. "How could you do that?!"

"They killed my flock! They burnt _everything _the first time! Even if I survive this I'll be out on the streets!" Darren's eyes bulged, his face had gone red.

"You should've run," Tim said. He was calm, probably the only person who _was. _"You should've let them pass. Because that was all they were doing, wasn't it? Running. From whatever took the big one's horn, I presume."

Darren's mouth was open. "How…how did you know that? How did you know I hit first?"

"Because you thought they were _monsters," _Tim said and turned on his heel, walking away. "When they were just afraid."


End file.
